Cigarette and cigar receiver



July 29, 1941. K, LBER 2,250,451

CIGARETTE AND CIGAR RECEIVER Filed May 17. 1939 Patented July 29, 194-17 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in cigarette and cigar receivers.

Lighted cigarettes and cigars are an ever recurring source of troubleand danger in the household, oiiice, factory, store, or for that matter.everywhere, and ash trays and receivers in use today have not beeneiiicacious in remedying the situation. The cigars and cigarettes rolloff, the ashes drop on rugs, and perusal of the records of the insurancecompanies and our daily newspapers are verification of the factthatacute fire hazards exist.

This hazard is chiefly due to the fact that smokers often leave theircigars and cigarettes on the trays with the unconsumed portion extendingover the side, and then neglect them, with the result that when thearticle is further consumed by the incandescent ash, the cigar orcigarette drops over the side of the receiver.

Further, when a cigarette is placed upon the conventional tray orreceiver, the smoke from the burning ash smudges the paper contiguous tothe ash, spoiling the flavor of the cigarette when it is later smoked.

I have provided a receiver which overcomes the disadvantages of theconventional tray, one object of my invention being to eliminate thedanger of rolling cigarettes or cigars, and another, to prevent thesmoking or smudging of the paper contiguous to the burning ash of thecigarette.

Generally, my invention comprises a receptacle and a member which ishereinafter styled a grating, the grating consisting of plates withintermediate bars from which extend closely spaced prongs or nubs, thedistance therebetween being such that a cigarette or cigar will alwaysrest upon the ends of the prongs when placed thereupon, no matter wherepositioned.

Additionally, the grating may be easily turned over to dump any ashes orextinguished cigars or cigarettes into the receptacle portion of thereceiver.

The stated objects and others, as well as the means of their attainmentwill be apparent after a perusal of the following specification, takenin conjunction with the drawing.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a perspective view of the invention with a portion of thereceptacle broken away.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the grating and receptacle taken alonglines 2-2.

Fig. 3 illustrates a side elevation of one of the rows of prongs andmountings.

Fig. 4 depicts a modified prong showing the ends rounded.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

In thedrawing, referring particularly to Fig. l, 5 depicts thereceptacle portion 6 of the receiver, which in the form shown is arectangular parallelepiped, with base 1, sides 8, ends 9 and an opentop. Medially of .the top of ends 9 are formed notches I0, having flatbottoms.

While I have indicated the receptacle portion of. the receiver in theshape of a rectangular parallelepiped, this portion may be in any otherdesired form, dish-shaped, or otherwise.

Fitting in the open top of the receptacle there is a grating ll, ofnovel structure, consisting of a plurality of longitudinally disposedbars 12, from which equidistantly extend prongs l3, one set above andone below. While I have shown prongs l3 in this relationship, I mayemploy but one set of prongs, that is, extending above bars l2, andfurther, the bars may be disposed other than longitudinallly,

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated prongs having flat extremities, whileFigs. 3 and 4 depict a modified form, wherein the extremities arerounded. Any shaped prong may be employed, as long as the extremity isnot so pointed as to injure the fingers of one using the receiver.

I prefer to have the extremities of members l3 slightly below the upperedge of receptacle 6 when the grating is set as indicated in Figs. 1 and3, so that if a cigarette or cigar is placed near the edge of 6, it willnot roll from the receiver.

The distance between bars I2, and that between prongs l3 extendingtherefrom is such that a cigarette will rest at any point upon theextremities of one set of prongs without falling into receptacle 6.

In the embodiment shown, a die may be used to strike out each row ofequidistantly extending prongs from a single sheet of metal. However,any other suitable material, or method of manufacture, i. e., casting,can be employed to achieve equivalent results.

The terminals of bars [2 are riveted or otherwise fixedly secured to endplates l4, see Figs. 1, 3 and 4, with the portion adjacent plates I4being slightly larger than the prongs to assure a firm connection.

Both plates 14 are provided with shafts having outer heads [5 and innerheads I6, with the intermediate portions I1 fiat on opposite sides. Stubshafts l8 are turned over or swaged on the inner side of end plates I4,while on outer heads l5 are mounted thumb wheels l9.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 5, it will be noted that the sides ofintermediate portion H lie fiat in the bottom of notches ID, whengrating II is positioned for receiving cigarettes or cigars, so that thegrating will not rotate when in use, as in Fig. 1.

I have determined that when a lighted cigarette is placed upon thegrating, and allowed to remain there for any length of time, no smoking,discoloration or smudging of the paper contiguous to the burning ashresults, as it does in the trays or receivers in use today. This is dueto the fact that air circulates so freely around the cigarette, andaround the minute extremities of prongs I3 upon which the cigarette isresting, that it is evenly consumed. Furthermore, the cigarette may beextinguished, if desired, by rubbing the burning end across one or moreof the exposed prongs l3.

In trays and receivers commonly employed, the surface contiguous to thereposing cigarette is very much greater, and the smudging anddiscoloration of the cigarette results, I believe, from the temperatureof this surface being less than the temperature of the burningcigarette, with consequent collection of moisture on this surface, whichis picked up by the cigarette.

After the receiver has been in use for some time, ashes may collectalong the sides of prongs I3 and there will be extinguished cigaretteslying on the surface of grating II. To dump these and free prongs l3 ofashes, grating II should be turned over by revolving either one or bothof wheels l9, As illustrated in Fig. 2, a space is left below the planein which grating l I revolves and the bottom of the receptacle 6, forreceiving extinguished cigarettes and ashes. Receptacle 6 may be cleanedby lifting out grating II and throwing away what has collected in thebottom of the receptacle.

With my invention, I have not only absolutely eliminated the smoking andsmudging of cigarettes and cigars, but I have provided a receiver onwhich the burning article may be placed and left, with the assurancethat it will not roll offno matter how much of it may be consumed. Itrequires no skill to use, and may be employed anywhere with safety.

In its broader aspects the invention comprehends the employment not onlyof the means described, but of equivalent means for performing therecited functions. It is desired to reserve the right to effect suchchanges as may come fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described, including a receptacle, arotatable grating mounted in the receptacle, and comprising a pair ofend plates and intermediate bars connecting the plates, each of saidbars having oppositely disposed prongs extending therefrom adapted toreceive a cigarette or cigar.

2. A device of the character described, including a receptacle, arotatable grating mounted in the receptacle, and comprising a pair ofend plates and intermediate bars connecting the plates, and closelyspaced, oppositely disposed prongs extending from each of said bars, theterminals of said prongs adapted to receive a. cigarette or cigar.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a receptacle withnotched ends, a rotatable grating having end-plates and intermediatebars connecting the plates, each of said bars provided with closelyspaced, oppositely disposed prongs, said end-plates carrying shafts, anda manipulating wheel mounted on one of said shafts for rotating thegrating.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a receptacle withends having notches with straight lower edges, a grating consisting ofend plates and intermediate bars connecting the plates, each of saidbars having closely spaced prongs and each of said plates provided witha shaft, the intermediate portions of which have opposite fiat sidesdesigned to rest upon the aforementioned edges of the notches.

5. A device of the character described, including a receptacle, arotatable grating mounted in i said receptacle and comprising a pair ofend plates and intermediate bars connecting the plates, each of saidbars having closely spaced, oppositely disposed prongs, the terminals ofwhich are below the plane of the upper edge of said receptacle.

6. A device of the character described, including a receptacle, agrating mounted in said receptacle and comprising a pair of end platesand intermediate bars connecting the plates, each of said bars havingclosely spaced, oppositely disposed prongs, the terminals of which arebelow the plane of the upper edge of said receptacle.

7. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination, areceptacle, and a grating having a plurality of closely spaced,oppositely disposed, vertical projections extending throughout thelength and breadth of the upper and lower faces of said grating adaptedto support a cigarette or cigar in a plane at substantially right anglesto said projections.

KARMEN D. ALBERT.

